Japan’s 1989 asset-price crash began the period later called Japan’s Lost Decades.
During the late 1980s, Japanese property and share prices rose dramatically amid abundant credit and speculation. The Nikkei 225 reached its record closing high of 38,915.87 on December 29, 1989. After the bubble burst, stock and land prices fell for years, damaging banks, companies, and household balance sheets.
The phrase Lost Decades usually refers to Japan’s prolonged period of weak growth, deflation, and financial repair from the 1990s onward. Some economists use the plural because stagnation continued into the 2000s and, in some measures, beyond.
The crash was not a single day comparable to Black Monday. It was a long asset-price collapse followed by banking problems and slow deleveraging. Japan’s experience also became a frequent case study in how commercial-property bubbles and delayed recognition of bad loans can prolong financial damage.